


First Date

by julie4697



Category: Vocaloid
Genre: F/M, Pure Unadulterated Fluff, and it's disgusting sugar fluff, if you're reading this please consider writing even 500 words for this ship, im not exaggerating, im so lonely, it seems like i can only write one genre of first date, this is literally the only fic in this tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-24
Updated: 2017-05-24
Packaged: 2018-11-04 06:26:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10985238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/julie4697/pseuds/julie4697
Summary: "For the millionth time, he willed himself to stay calm. It wasn’t like this was the first time he’d talked with her alone. Those few times they’d walked home after work, those had been like dates, right? Although at the time he hadn’t even dared to think of the word “date”. Nor had he even allowed himself to think of her as anyone more than his sister’s friend. But this, this was…official. She’d asked him out to this. And, most frustratingly, Gakupo couldn't find a logical explanation for why he of all people was so desperately anxious for this to work out."





	First Date

**Author's Note:**

> Forgive the very unoriginal title. This is part of a much larger extended universe of Vocaloid pairings that I have been growing in the plot of my mind and that I will hopefully be able to add to as time goes on. 
> 
> For now, understand that Gumi and Gakupo are siblings, Iroha and Gumi are best friends that go to the same school (as does Gakupo, though he's in a different class), and Gakupo and Iroha have jobs at the same convenience store. Got all that? Have fun! >u<

He was too early. He kept staring down at his watch, then his phone, then back to his watch again like a frenzied pendulum, back and forth, back and forth, until he had to make himself stop. She was showing up, wasn’t she? He wouldn’t know what to do if she didn’t. Just stand there like an idiot with his gift bag? He ran a hand through his hair, trying to calm himself down. She _would_ show up. Like a nervous tic, he flicked the screen of his phone on again to scroll through his messages, with hers always on the very top—“On my way!”—just that one, cheery phrase. 

What if she showed up and decided she didn’t want to do this anymore? It was an awkward situation to be sure, and he knew he wasn’t good-looking enough to hold a girl’s attention. Sure, he’d dressed in his best, asking Gumi for advice almost every ten seconds (not that she wouldn’t have given her opinion unsolicited anyway), and his long hair had been tidily tied out of the way, but even in his favorite smart outfit and lucky purple eggplant underwear he felt like nothing more than a tall, lanky idiot. He even left his glasses at home, and while his vision wasn’t a huge hindrance, it was just enough to make him terrified he’d bump into things in front of her. What was taking her so long? What if he’d missed her already and she’d just left? 

For the millionth time, he willed himself to stay calm. It wasn’t like this was the first time he’d talked with her alone. Those few times they’d walked home after work, those had been like dates, right? Although at the time he hadn’t even dared to think of the word “date”. Nor had he even allowed himself to think of her as anyone more than his sister’s friend. But this, this was…official. She’d asked him out to this. And, most frustratingly, Gakupo couldn't find a logical explanation for why he of all people was so desperately anxious for this to work out. So he gave up on finding one, and just focused on his breathing, which seemed to work for a while.

But his heart sank when he heard her unmistakable voice call out, "Gakupo-senpai!" from his left, and, as if in a dream, he watched Iroha come running over the hill to meet him.

He could not stop himself from staring. But why? She was dressed the way she normally dressed; unlike many tomboys that he knew, Iroha wasn’t one to shy away from skirts—though she was more of a shorts girl, to be fair—and he’d even seen her in skirts a few times, when she’d come pick Gumi up for a day out. And yet, everything was different, he realized, because this time she was wearing a _dress_. 

Just why that simple, unobtrusive fact flabbergasted him so much, Gakupo could not for the life of him figure out, nor why it damn near stopped his heart in his throat to notice that there was just a bit of heel to the shoes she was wearing. It wasn’t like she was in something incredibly fancy, and neither of them were under- or over-dressed for a date, but as he watched her panting slightly in the aftermath of her hurried steps and the folds of her peach-pink dress (it was pink, too, oh god, like her hair and her cheeks and even her lips) flying out gently around her, he was suddenly so overwhelmed by feeling that it took him a second to realize that he was blushing.

Hurriedly, he averted his eyes as if he had been caught gawking at something he shouldn’t have, and waited for her to catch her breath. He jolted to when Iroha pointed at the paper gift bag he was holding, and asked, “What’s that?”

“Oh…right. This.” He held the bag out towards her, feeling terribly awkward. “I…I got this for you. I figured it would be a good start to…to our date.” Now that he’d actually said the word out loud, he couldn’t bring himself to look her in the eyes as he offered his gift. Not at all how he’d envisioned this to go. For one terrible moment before she took it, the bag hung heavy in his hand and he wished that the ground could swallow him up. What kind of guy got gifts for a girl before they properly dated? Could there _be_ any better way to send a desperate “thanks for agreeing to date me” message to a girl? But she did take it, and the smile that lit up her face was enough for now to dissipate his embarrassment.

“Oh, wow! What is it? Can I open it now?” The enthusiasm in her eyes made the corners of his mouth quirk up despite himself. 

“Go ahead.”

Gingerly, she took the tiny box from the bag and began to pry open the tape-sealed opening with her nails. The nervousness was back full-force in Gakupo’s stomach. What if she didn’t like it? He’d asked Gumi about Iroha's preferences before buying it, of course, and had received a very unequivocal assessment of her tastes, but it didn’t make him feel less insecure about his choice, somehow. Sure, she might like Hello Kitty, but even a girl who adores Hello Kitty to the moon and back might want some variety in her life once in a while, and besides, who was to say she didn’t already own what he’d got her? Wouldn’t that be the most awkward thing in the world? He should have just gotten her some flowers, or a box of cookies, or something safe like th-

“WOW!!” The excitement in her voice was palpable as she pulled out the figurine to examine in the light. “A rainbow crystal Kitty!” She twirled the thing in her hand, making iridescent light dance around her face and in her eyes. “This is so beautiful! I can’t believe it!” She smiled at him, so brightly that it hurt to look at. “Thank you so much, Gakupo-senpai!”

He felt heat creep up his neck and up his ears again, this time out of pleasure. “No problem,” he mumbled, as she reverently tucked the figurine back in its tissue-lined box. “Gumi told me you liked Hello Kitty.”

“I do! I love Hello Kitty! I save up my allowance so I can go blow it all at the Kitty store,” she said happily, putting the gift bag into her purse (which, Gakupo now noticed, was also Hello Kitty-themed—it was much more subtle, but the clasp was shaped like Kitty’s trademark bow), then added, “but I’ve never been able to get my hands on these nice figurines at the back. They’re a bit expensive for me.”

With a pang, Gakupo remembered that Iroha’s family wasn’t very affluent; her father, an elementary school teacher, barely made ends meet for their family of three daughters. With their mother out of the picture, and one sister who was away in university and another one just entering school, Iroha had to be the one taking care of her family most of the time. He found himself wishing suddenly that their shifts overlapped more so that he could at least walk her home more often. It was really the least he could do for her, as her colleague, best friend’s brother and now… well, as her date.

They walked along for a bit in silence before Iroha broke it. “Do you like roller coasters, Gakupo-senpai?”

“Hmm?” 

“We’re going to the amusement park, right? How do you like riding roller coasters?” There was a mischievous smile on her lips that told him she wouldn’t really take ‘no’ for an answer. He sighed. 

“I guess…I’m not bad with them. Too many loops might make me queasy, though.”

“Great! Because I want to go on all of them. It’s my first time at an amusement park this large.” She was looking elated already. He smiled.

“Didn’t the town where you used to live have any amusement parks?”

“There was one, but it was very small,” she said. “Just one lame roller coaster and a couple of spinny rides. I can’t do spinny rides. They make me hurl.” She wrinkled her nose. “But I liked the roller coaster so much, I did it 20 times in one day.”

He had to laugh at that. “I can’t do spinning rides, either,” he confessed. “I get nauseous too. Let’s avoid those today.”

She beamed up at him. “Yeah! I’m so excited! Although,” she said, after a moment’s hesitation, “I can’t do _too_ many rough rides, I think.”

He glanced at her, surprised. “Why not?”

“Because I don’t want to break your gift, of course!” She squeezed her purse to her chest, glowing. “I mean, I can leave this in the lockers, but I can’t have anyone steal it. Just in case.”

And before Gakupo even had time to recover from his joy—she _liked_ the gift, _actually liked it_ —she slipped her arm right around his. It was all he could do to not break stride and do something stupid, like drop into a faint on the spot.

——

The sun was slowly setting over the cityscape. Iroha, still somehow chipper after the hectic day of roller coasters and running around, led him around the park, chattering all the while. He hadn’t noticed exactly when she’d started holding his hand instead of linking arms with him, but he didn’t mind; he was still a bit dizzy from the ride on the spinning tea cups (she’d insisted on doing one spinny ride after all—turns out she wasn’t nearly as prone to nausea as she’d thought, though the same couldn’t be said for him) and the combined exhaustion of screaming on the roller coasters and the sugar high he had from the cotton candy they’d shared was making his head buzz a little. She must have noticed, or was feeling tired herself, because she led them into a quieter alcove of the park where the arcade games were.

They strode alongside each other, observing the other patrons who were trying their hand at winning the prizes.

“Oh, that looks fun,” Iroha remarked, upon seeing a shooting arena. “Wanna try, senpai? I heard you were quite good.”

“Where did you hear that?” he said, startled.

“Gumi told me.” There was a smug little smile in the corner of her mouth. “She told me _all_ about it when you were kids, and you won her all these prizes because you were such a sharp shooter.” She gave him a challenging look. “Is that true?”

He stretched his arms. “I can shoot a little.” He was almost embarrassed at how riled up he felt at her dubious look. 

Her smile only grew. “Want to prove it?"

Heart pounding in his ears, he made his way up to the shooting stand. When he paid the stand operator and hunkered down over the rifle, however, he realized she had done the same; she had positioned herself in a low shooting stance on the other side, finger already on the trigger, and she looked over at him with a smirk. 

“Best two out of three, senpai? Loser buys winner an ice cream,” she called, and he nodded dazedly. Were they really doing this? It seemed they were. And, Gakupo realized, he really wanted to win. Not just for the ice cream, obviously, but—he swallowed thickly—he _really_ wanted to impress her. 

The bell sounded, and he shifted his focus entirely onto the bullseye. This part was easier than anything else; he only had to concentrate, keep his eyes on the target, guide the muzzle of the rifle with the gentlest of touches. Holding his breath, he shot once—twice—three times, adjusting slightly for the kick of the gun each time, and only releasing his breath when the points appeared on the scoreboard. He straightened up, gave a quick glance at Iroha’s scores, and hummed appreciatively. They weren’t bad at all, especially if this was her first time. 

On the second round, he opted to shoot more slowly, and this proved a good strategy: he beat her by a solid 5 points, putting an 8-point margin between them. It was at this point that he turned, somewhat satisfied, to look at her face, making solid eye contact with her. 

She winked at him.

If he had been smiling triumphantly before, the smile must have dropped immediately, because it was her turn to smirk rakishly at him before she returned to her gun for the final time. He steadied his breath, willed himself to focus—oh god, his face was hot, were his hands shaking? This really wasn’t the time, _not now_ , he bit the inside of his cheek and squinted with the force of trying to concentrate. He shot again, three times, but he knew he’d messed up; indeed, he massively overshot once, and missed the bullseye on another, bringing the tally of his third round to a measly 21. 

Apprehensive, he made himself look at their combined scoreboards. Success! He’d still won, but only by very little. That last round had been close, too close. He felt Iroha’s presence at his side again, looking over the same scores.

“It wasn’t really fair, you know,” she complained. “You were constantly distracting me, senpai.”

“M-Me? Distract you?” he sputtered, indignant. “Are you sure that isn’t my line?”

“You were,” she said, with a pout. “Your shirt kept riding up your back and it was very hard not to look, you know.”

Gakupo barely had time to register this as a coherent sentence in his mind before he was hit by the realization that, honest to god, _Nekomura Iroha had been checking him out_ —and, even worse, if he had bothered to look, her dress had probably been doing the same on her legs, and—he had to actually shake his head to rid himself of these thoughts, or he felt his face was actually going to combust right then and there. Instead of looking anywhere near her, he developed a sudden fervent interest in picking out his prize; she stepped away, maybe because she was bored, but maybe also just to give him time to decide. That was when he spotted the large Hello Kitty plushie in the back row.

When he walked back to her with the prize, she’d been distracted by the signage on a nearby ride, but she gasped when she saw what he was holding.

“What!” she exclaimed, as he let her take the stuffed animal into her arms. “But I didn’t even win!”

“Just for being a good sport,” he said, with a shaky laugh.

“But I… I…” He let the teasing nature of his statement sink in, when suddenly he was struck by a worrying thought. 

“Unless you already own that exact doll,” he added hurriedly. “In that case I can go exchange it for something el-"

“No, that’s not it.” She hugged the Kitty closer to her chest, possessively. “This Kitty has a yellow bow. The one I have at home is 26cm too, but her bow is red, so this one is limited edition.” 

He had to smile at her abounding love for Hello Kitty; he remembered being a kid and obsessively collecting Super Samurais action figures, and how he had kept each one vigilantly labeled with the right name and lined up in order of their release. It must be nice to have some of that passion still in your life, he mused. 

“It’s just that...” her voice faltered, “you already got me a gift and all.”

Gakupo shrugged, feeling a bit bashful. “I don’t mind giving you another one. I know you really like Hello Kitty, so.” 

At this, she dropped her eyes and smiled, and she hugged the doll even more tightly. He thought he detected a blush on her cheeks too, but he couldn’t be sure. “Oh, look, this one has straps so I can wear it like a backpack! Now I don’t have to worry about carrying her around everywhere.”

“You still owe me an ice cream, though,” he reminded her playfully. “All the better not to splash your ice cream over the plushie.”

“Right. I think there was a really nice shop over there!” 

She was leading him by the hand again, and he found himself wishing the day would never end.

——

But end it did, and the first stars had already started coming out by the time they walked back to their neighborhood. Despite her protests he had insisted on accompanying her home; in the light of the streetlights, he watched her as she inhaled the night air deeply and blissfully. 

“My feet are so tired,” she said cheerfully, “but I had so much fun today. What about you, senpai?”

“I had fun too,” he said, and was tempted to add something cheesy like “and all the more with you”, but his horrified brain shut that right down. His mind was wandering back to the events of the day: how she had reassuringly closed her hand over his when he looked nervous on the roller coaster, her voice excitedly pointing out the details of the scenery as they sailed over the city in the ferris wheel, and, of course, the wink. He felt another blush creep up his cheeks as he remembered it. Furtively, he stole a side-glance at Iroha; it seemed she was lost in her own reverie, her eyes cast upwards towards the sky. 

Funny how comfortable it was now, to walk with her in silence. Earlier today, every awkward silence had weighed down on his shoulders, and he’d felt gauche no matter what he said or did, but at the end of it all, he couldn’t believe his first date had ended so successfully. Or had it all been a dream? He could almost believe it was. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much fun, come to think of it. In between the shifts, and picking up after his sisters, and the schoolwork, his date with Iroha really had been a much-needed break. He could only hope he’d been the same for her. 

They came to a stop in front of Iroha’s house. 

“Well,” Gakupo said, after a pause. He suddenly felt timid again. “Good night.”

“Good night, Gakupo-senpai. Thank you so much for today!”

“Thank you for coming out with me, too,” he said, unable to look her in the eye for some reason. He felt like he had to do something—no, he wanted to do something. Even just a pat on the back, a squeeze on the hand, anything? 

But he didn’t have to decide. In one big rush, she came up to him like a torrent, and threw her arms around his neck, quite knocking the breath out of him. The Hello Kitty doll she was wearing on her back bumped him on the nose as she rose to her full height to meet him, and for a second he caught a whiff of apple sorbet on her breath. He hugged her back, awkwardly at first, then, sliding a hand between her back and the doll, in a full, proper hug, trying to not let the feel of her warm breath on his ear disorient him. 

The ground seemed to spin, and in that instant, he realized, dizzily, that he wanted to kiss her. His mind darted back to her pink lips, so close to his cheek, and he wondered if she could feel his heart beating faster against her. But it was only the first date, and he didn’t want to take things too fast, and he didn’t know how comfortable she was with boundaries. It was something they’d have to establish next time… Yes, next time, he thought in a haze. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to have a second date.

As if she’d read his mind, she murmured, “Can we do this again sometime?”

This surprised a laugh out of him. “Of course,” he replied, breathlessly.

Then it was all over before he knew it, and she was waving goodbye at him from the doorway. “Take care, senpai!” Then, in one last cheeky greeting, “call me!" 

She disappeared, leaving his heart hammering.

Though his house was no more than a few blocks away, he couldn’t bring himself to start walking again. He was far too giddy to go home. Most of all, he was scared to even face his sister Gumi in this state—in his current frame of mind, he doubted he could even look her in the eye without thinking of Iroha by association, and Gumi would never let him have the end of _that_. 

He buried his face in his hands with a small groan. Here he was, a high school senior pushing 19, completely (he might as well admit it to himself) _smitten_ for a girl almost two full years his junior, and his sister’s best friend, at that. He hadn’t had a crush this big since he was 13. Part of him wanted to scold himself for being silly, he should be ashamed, who did he think he was, now? but he was too far away to even listen to himself. For now, he would let the afterglow of today help him through whatever long weeks he had ahead of him.

——

He thought he’d managed to calm himself down a little by the time he reached home. Pushing open the door, he called out “I’m home!” and was met by an enthusiastic, “Welcome home!”

“How was it?” Gumi was almost sliding on the floor in her haste to come meet him. “Did it go well?”

At her question, he almost felt himself come undone again, and he managed a quick “it was fun” before he tried to slip past her, but Gumi wasn’t going to take that for an answer. She grabbed his arm.

“You have to tell me how it went! Tell me everything, onii-chan!” she said pleadingly, and he knew there was no escape. After all, he realized, she had a right to know, too. It was her best friend and her brother, of course she felt invested in their relationship. If he could even call it that. Another jolt of… nerves? thrill? went through his stomach, and he forced himself to look at his sister. 

“I…” He swallowed, tried again. “We really enjoyed ourselves. I think we’re definitely going on another date.”

In a split second, she had him wrapped in a joyful hug. “I’m so glad, nii-chan!” she squealed, and although he felt like he really had exhausted his bear-hug quota for the day, he couldn’t help but chuckle and hug her back just as warmly. When she pulled away, she looked into his face with a mock serious air. “But you have to promise me to treat her right, okay. If you break her heart, I have to disown you.”

He feigned hurt. “Hey, I’m your brother! Don’t I take precedence?”

She punched him lightly on the arm. “Just don’t do it, nii-chan.”

The words, “I don’t think I’ll ever want to,” slipped out before he realized it, and the look of downright glee on his sister’s face made Gakupo’s heart drop. 

“Wait, nii-chan, what was that?”

“Never mind,” he muttered hurriedly, and tried to evade her for real, this time succeeding; but he just had time to catch her “Your face is all red, nii-chan!” before he shut his bedroom door. 


End file.
